“We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time.” ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

From Jerusalem to Ground Zero: Muslim, Jewish,

Christian, Sioux, and Hindu Notions of “Sacredness”

• RELI 291 •

Peter Gottschalk Office hours: spring 2019 Tues 10-11 am Department of Religion office 103 Weds 3-4 pm pgottschalk@wesleyan.edu & by appointment

This course endeavors: (1) To investigate religion as a phenomenon;

(2) To explore the meaning of “sacredness” & “the sacred” and question their comparative use in non-English, non-Christian cultures;

(3) To understand more about specific religious communities & their worldviews.

Please read each day’s material in the order indicated, prepare a response to the focus question, and (once a week) provide a journal entry

A beginning Jan 24 Welcome Order reader Jan 29 Moodle: Jerusalem intro Moodle: Associated Press, “Clashes at Jerusalem holy site for third straight day” Moodle: Zahriyeh, “Who Owns Jerusalem?” Moodle: glossary for Inbari reading

Moodle: Inbari, “Religious Zionism and the Temple Mount Dilemma-Key Trends”

• • • Place • • • Jewish Jerusalem Jan 31 Reader: Kunin, ch “Biblical Sacred Space” Online: Exodus 3.1-12; Exodus 40.1-15; Deuteronomy 12.1-19

• http://nocr.net/bexpo/english/engtnk/index.php In class: The (missing) Temple Feb 5 Reader: Kunin, chs “Rabbinic Sacred Space” & “Modern Jewish Sacred Space” Feb 7 Reader: Kunin, ch “Pilgrimage” ®

• • • Experience • • •

“Sacred” and the Non-Rational Feb 12 Otto, chs I-II, IV-VI Weds, Feb 13 @ 4.30 pm • Required talk – Jeff Kripal, “Biological Gods: UFOs, Science (Fiction),

and Some Emergent Mythologies” • PAC 002

mailto:pgottschalk@wesleyan.edu

Feb 14 Otto, chs VII-IX, XXI ® Feb 19 Reader: Orsi, “The Problem of the Holy” ® Reader: Ann Taves, “Special Things as Building Blocks of Religions” ®

• • • Place, Again • • • Christian Jerusalem Feb 21 >>> Meet outside Wesleyan chapel

Hindu temples Apr 11 Eck, chs 1-2b ® Apr 16 Eck, chs 2c-Afterword ® RAW paper thesis, outline, & bibliography due

Apr 18 Moodle: Srirangapatnam temple, Karnataka • Temple visit? Reader: Srinivasan, “Padyatra” ® Reader: Michell from The Hindu Temple ®

• • • Human Bodies & Bodies of Land • • • Lakota: Recognizing “sacred lands” and shamans Apr 23 Reader: from John Neihardt with Black Elk, The Sixth Grandfather ® Apr 25 Reader: Deloria, “Sacred Lands and Religious Freedom” ® Reader: Crow Dog, “Cankpe Opi Wakpala,” “The Siege,” & “The Ghosts Return” Apr 30 Reader: Holy, “The Heart of Everything That Is: Paha Sapa, Treaties, and Lakota

Identity” ® Reader: Sundstrom, “Fools Crow versus Gullett: A Critical Analysis of the

American Indian Religious Freedom Act” ®

• • • The Nation & Civil Religion • • • Ground Zero May 2 Reader: Bellah, “Civil Religion in America” ® Reader: Glass, “‘Alexanders All’: Symbols of Conquest and Resistance at Mount

Rushmore” ® Online: Pamela Geller – http://pamelageller.com/category/ground-zero-mega-

mosque-takbir/page/28/ – NOTE: Read earliest blogs first Online: Andrea Peyser, “Mosque Madness at Ground Zero” -

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/mosque_madness_at_ground_zero_OQ34EB0MWS0lXuAnQau5uL

May 7 Moodle: Memorial tour Online: Museum tour http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/05/14/arts/design/September-11-

Memorial-Museum.html Moodle: Museum details

• • • Is Nothing “Sacred”? • • • Thursday, May 16 • 9 am: RAW papers due

• 2-5 pm: Discussion of this, other scintillating questions, and, oh yeah, student presentations.

http://pamelageller.com/category/ground-zero-mega-mosque-takbir/page/28/http://pamelageller.com/category/ground-zero-mega-mosque-takbir/page/28/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/05/14/arts/design/September-11-Memorial-Museum.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/05/14/arts/design/September-11-Memorial-Museum.html

Required texts Diana L. Eck, Darshan: Seeing the Divine Image in India (3rd Edition) (978-0231112659) Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy (0-19-500210-5) Jonathan Z. Smith, To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual (978-0226763613) Reader: available for order through your portfolio

Our Learning Community We endeavor to create a learning community in which you discuss the issues that are of concern to you and hear those of others, even as we all share our questions. Class attendance is mandatory and students are expected to be punctual and participate in discussions. In addition, each student will participate in one small group discussion with the professor. Students who plan to miss class due to a religious holiday must notify the professor two weeks in advance.

Your participation grade relies heavily on your familiarity with the readings & your insightful, critical engagement with them & the other

content shared in the seminar.

Classroom etiquette Our time together is an opportunity to forge an environment and community of learning. The more focused and respectful we are of that time and place, the more intense our experience and the greater the possibilities for discovery. To that end, please observe the following courtesies during class.

• Disagree with your classmates and professor, but do not disrespect anyone. • Have no communication with anyone outside of class during class. • Go to the bathroom before class: folks coming and going disrupt others. • If you’re loquacious, be mindful of allowing others the chance to speak; if you’re the strong silent type, rise to the occasion of helping carry the conversation.

Reflective journal

Each student once a week will submit by 10 pm the evening before class three to six sentences (only!) regarding that day’s reading that references specific parts of the reading (include page numbers). The first two sentences will offer an analytic observation about the reading. The third will be one analytic question regarding the reading. These will be submitted on Moodle and assessed according to the seriousness and intention given to them.

Grades are as follows: 0 – not completed; 1- insufficient effort or unclear meaning; 2- sufficient; 3 – demonstrative of refined critical and/or integrative

thinking.

Note: Critical analysis is not just the act of criticizing (although it can lead to this). Rather, it is the methodical application of theoretical tools in order to see more in a text than the text explicitly states.

Reading Analysis Presentation

Each student will help begin conversation on a reading of hir choice with one prepared, 5-minute presentation that offers critical insights into the reading relative to at least one other

reading we have completed. Not a boring summary of what we’ve all read, this uses our previous readings and discussion as well as your own insights to say something about the reading that it doesn’t explicitly say itself. See this as an opportunity to prepare for the final research presentation, the grade for which counts for 10% of the final grade.

Your presentation grade relies heavily on your familiarity with the readings & your insightful, critical engagement with them & the other content shared in the seminar. It also relies on your thoughtful effort to communicate your argument clearly and convincingly to your seminar

mates.

All written work must: • be double-spaced and in 12-point font • have the page numbers noted for all references to class readings • be submitted in either PDF or Word format • be submitted to TurnItIn.com (accessed through WesPortal)

• not feature your name anywhere on the paper or in the document’s name at all. Please just list your student number at the top of the first page.

• include no more than one quote of full sentence length per page (quoting words or phrases is fine within reason).

Note: Our Research Librarian is Kendall Hobbs. He’s an incredible resource to help you

research papers. Contact him at x3962 or khobbs@wesleyan.edu

Analytic Papers

Two papers (3 pages each) give students the opportunity to critically engage readings and draw their own arguments about them. Students choose from two of the three analytic paper assignments offered. Papers will be submitted on Turnitin.com.

These papers will be evaluated according to (a) the strength of their argumentation, (b) how well they reflect understanding of pertinent class

readings and lectures, (c) their ability to show your insights into the sources and class materials, and (d) the cogency of the writing.

Rewrites are allowed for any of these papers so long as they are turned in within a week after the graded original was returned. The rewrite grade will be averaged with the original grade for a final grade.

RAW Paper

Each student will write one research, analysis, and writing (RAW) paper (11 pages, not including bibliography) on any topic that examines a specific issue regarding the perception of sacrality or its parallel in a particular community or culture not discussed in detail in class. The terminology of sacrality or its parallel must be substantially explained and justified. Papers allow you an opportunity to explore personal interests, judge the impact on a community, and develop writing skills.

• Consult the RAW paper guidelines for essential details.

Your grade will be determined by (a) the depth of the research, (b) the range of your resources, (c) the sharpness of the analysis, (d) the successful application of

the class themes, and (e) the quality of the writing.

Research Presentation Each student will provide an six-minute presentation to the seminar regarding their RAW paper project. This will occur on the day for which the seminar is scheduled to have its final exam: Thursday, May 16, 2-5 p.m. Non-attendance is not an option.

Grade The following components determine the final grade: participation (including attendance, reflective journal, & in-class presentation 10%), analysis papers (20% each), RAW paper (40%), and final research presentation (10%).

Accessibility resources Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities

are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, its programs and services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a disability as defined by the ADA. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible.

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Accessibility Services, located in North College, rooms 021/022, or call 860-685-5581 to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations.

PLEASE! Once you have obtained documentation, don’t hesitate to discuss with me your needs for accommodation.

Curmudgeonly notice The use of computers, tablets, and cell phones is not allowed in the class. While I appreciate that some students find it easier to type, the unfortunately inevitable web surfing, social networking, and texting by a few students distracts the rest, and the prof. Plus, if you have seen Westworld, Battlestar Galactica, Ex Machina, or any number of Star Trek episodes, I think you’ll agree with me that we don’t want to bring computers into our classrooms and make them any smarter than they already are. Students with documented need are exempt from this anti-modern diktat.

Honor System Students are expected to abide by the Honor System in regard to all work and participation in this class. For details, see pages 4-7 of http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/StudentHandbook.pdf

http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/disabilities/contactus.htmlhttp://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/disabilities/contactus.htmlhttp://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/StudentHandbook.pdf